Backpacking Meals - Boiling Water

All of the hot backpacking meals presented here require some amount of boiling water to cook and re-hydrate the food. I prefer to use an alcohol stove. Some folks prefer a canister stove. This is really a personal choice thing. Find what works for you. There are hundreds of Youtube videos and web pages that discuss boiling water for backpackers and campers. I thought I would discuss the process and equipment I use.

My favorite cook set is a mixture of items I made myself and includes a few off the shelf items as well. It is fairly light and small in size which are qualities that I desire in backpacking equipment. TheGoatMumbler has a good Youtube video on economical cook kits here.

The cook set includes a stove, stove insulator, pot, cup, windscreen, lighter and magnesium fire starter. I carry (separately) a long-handled titanium spoon as well that isn't pictured.

The alcohol stove includes a pot stand and burner and is made out of a fancy feast cat food can, aluminum roof flashing, fiberglass cloth and some rivets. The stove is one I made myself and is loosely based on the stove seen here. The windscreen (coiled up in the cup above), is made from aluminum roof flashing. It is significantly lighter than the windscreen I purchased from Amazon. The pot lid will also fit on the camp cup which is pretty handy.

The process of boiling water, using the equipment above, goes something like this:

• Determine the amount of water needed and put it into your cook pot. If boiling water for a meal or drink, the package should indicate the amount needed. Using a lid will significantly reduce the boil time, so I recommend using one.
• Given the amount of water you need to boil, determine the amount of fuel needed to boil the water and add it to your alcohol stove. My fuel of choice is HEET in the yellow bottle. This is definitely one of those things you should research, so you are comfortable with the notion. I did my research and I am fine with it, in fact, I recommend it! The amount of fuel needed to boil two cups of water ranges from .5 oz to 1.25 oz. Once you know what your setup requires, you can plan how much you need for a given trip.
• Find a suitably stable and flat surface to place the alcohol stove. Be sure to put the ground insulator down first and place the stove on top of it. This insulator can serve multiple purposes, but the main purpose is to prevent the bottom of the stove coming in contact with surfaces that are too cold. I still use it in the summer to protect the ground where the stove will be burning.
• Ignite the alcohol stove.
• Place the pot with the water on the pot stand. Be sure it is centered to limit the chance of the pot tipping over.
• Place the windscreen around the pot and stove to protect it from moving air.
• Within 6 to 10 minutes, 2 cups of water can be boiled using this method. There are many variables that will impact this time. The main factors will likely be the water's starting temperature and the ambient air temperature.

If you would like to see this process in action, here are a few links you can check out:

• Shug demonstrating the use of his "Fancee Feest" Alcohol Stove: Link
• Hiram Cook demonstrating the use of his Fancy Feast Alcohol Stove: Link

If you are interested in learning more about making alcohol stoves there are literally hundreds of Youtube videos on the subject. Check them out for yourself.

If you prefer to buy your equipment, the links below may be of interest to you.

• Canister stove and fuel
• Canister fuel: Amazon Canister 100 g fuel. The fuel canisters come in larger sizes, but the 100 gram size will fit inside the Stanley cook kit and many others as well.
• Canister stove: BRS stove. Super small and highly recommended.
• A-SZCXTOP Portable Alcohol Stove: Link. This works pretty good for a wide range of circumstances and cook kits. I recommend the stove specifically mentioned in the link above because of the pot stand. There are many burners that look like the one in the link, but they don't all come with a stand and if they do come with a stand, they are not all as flexible as the stand in the link.

TTFN

B